Dual Danger
by jelliclesoul635
Summary: If you're looking for a short and to-the-point kind of story that still has a decent amount of Dem/Munk pairing (with a little Bombalurina) and some action (maybe some mystery, too), then this might be what you're looking for. Sneak peek: "If I get hurt, so does she."


_**Dual Danger**_

By jelliclesoul635

Summary: If you're looking for a short and to-the-point kind of story, that still has a decent amount of Dem/Munk pairing and some action (maybe some mystery, too), then this might be what you're looking for. Sneak peek: "If I get hurt, so does she."

_A/N: So instead of doing work for college this is what I find myself doing: writing fan-fiction stories that people probably don't even enjoy anymore. And on top of that, there are other stories I could have updated rather than adding this one to the bunch. But it is what it is. *Shrugs* _

* * *

"Something's wrong." Demeter cried, clutching her abdomen. It felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Bombalurina, the golden-ebony queen's best friend watched with worried eyes. Just a moment ago they'd been chatting about the upcoming induction ceremony. Munkustrap was to be declared the next leader of the Jellicle Tribe since Old Deuteronomy had decided to step down because of his age. It had been impairing his ability to function as a leader for some time now.

"I feel like I'm being stabbed over and over again…" Demeter huddled over, grimacing and clenching her eyes shut. Her breathing was becoming labored, short breaths rapidly filling her lungs and just as rapidly leaving them. "Bast, I feel like a… punching… bag…"

"That's ridiculous, Demeter. There's no one around but you and I."

"Bomb, I feel… like… I'm being…" Demeter couldn't finish her statement, she curled inwards as another invisible blow struck her.

"You're not pregnant again, are you?" Bombalurina was incredulous. She partially hoped that the diagnosis was in fact that simple, for at the moment she had no idea what was plaguing her friend's body.

"No, I'm absolutely sure it's… not that. Plus… being pregnant.. feels nothing like this… Everlasting Cat…" she gasped as an unseen force sent her colliding with the ground. It was like some invisible trickster had kicked her feet from under her.

"Dem, what's going on?" Bombalurina kneeled beside Demeter's writhing form.

"I don't know, but I'm scared. Please make it stop." Demeter's chartreuse eyes were wide and pleading.

"Is it Macavity?"

Desperately trying to fill her lungs with air, she replied. "No… it's… Munkustrap."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Munkustrap rushed toward the Junkyard, fleeing from three dark rats, eyes gleaming with mischief as they began closing the gap between them and the ebony-striped feline. As Munkustrap rounded the corner, he looked as if he'd had the life bludgeoned out of him, much like his mate, who Bombalurina was still desperately trying to console. Cats came out from their hiding places upon hearing the ruckus.

"Munkustrap, what happened?" Alonzo called to him, but the silver tom did not stop running, he instead bolted right past the bi-colored feline, almost knocking him to the ground.

"I can't let them touch me, Alonzo! I can't explain it right now, but I have to keep running!"

"I'll help!" Alonzo shouted to Munkustrap, who dove behind a pile of trash bags. Alonzo stepped in front of the three seething rats, hissing at them in warning. During this stand-off, Bombalurina aided Demeter to her paws. Her ordeal had seemed to subside.

There was a loud clatter and everyone who had appeared, including the three rodents, turned to see Munkustrap coming over the hill of garbage again, this time back towards Alonzo. Three more rats climbed over the same pile of garbage and cackled sinisterly at the trap they'd set. Munkustrap cautiously crept backwards from his previous hiding spot, until his spine was firmly pressed against Alonzo's.

"You mind telling me what's going here?" Alonzo was confused as ever.

"These vermin know something you don't know. I don't know how they found out, but it is vital that you don't let them harm me, for Demeter's sake." Munkustrap whispered over his shoulder.

"Demeter?" Alonzo questioned bemusedly, but there was no time for Munkustrap to reply, for all six rats lunged at the two felines.

Before the surrounding cats could jump in to help the two Jellicle protectors, one rat was able to get a vice-like grip around Munkustrap's throat, constricting his windpipe like a slithering python does to its prey.

Bombalurina turned around at the sound of a loud thud, noticing that Demeter had collapsed on the ground, clutching her neck. Her face contorted strangely as she too seemed to struggle for breath, in the same fashion as Munkustrap. Already on her knees, she slowly slid onto her side and curled up into a ball, ready to pass out at any moment.

Plato tore the rat away from Munkustrap, who promptly ran for cover. Just as Munkustrap was released from the rat, Demeter gasped loudly, a dry and raspy sound, as air finally filled her aching chest. Bombalurina looked from her to Munkustrap's retreating form with an arched eyebrow, as though she'd figured out a clue which would unveil a great mystery.

The Jellicle's fought off the rats, even as more came. They handled the situation efficiently and not a feline was harmed, except for Munkustrap, but his injuries were sustained before he'd entered Jellicle territory, when the rats ambushed him.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" Bombalurina questioned Munkustrap, who had just been freed from Jellylorum's medical den. Jelly told him he was lucky to have nothing more than the few scrapes and bruises - that his injuries were "minor", but with the way he was feeling – lousy and in partial agony – he was sure he and Jellylorum must have had two very different ideas of the word minor.

"Bomba, I'm not sure what you mean."

"I heard what you whispered to Alonzo. Now spill the catnip before I seduce the truth out of you." Bombalurina circled the tom, letting the tip of her tail glide beneath the silver tabby's nostrils. It took a moment for Munkustrap to compose himself.

"Alright, but don't tell Demeter." He sighed slightly irritated, sitting down on the grand tire.

"I knew it had something to do with Demi!"

"Will you hush up and let me tell you? For Heaviside's sake…" Munkustrap's eyes bulged at the scarlet queen's sudden outbreak.

"Alright, alright. Go on." She huffed, sitting down next to him.

"I knew that I would be attacked."

"What? How?"

"I'd been receiving notes lately, anonymous ones. I don't know who they're from. All they say is that my days are numbered. The one I received this morning told me that the moon last night would be the last one I would ever see."

"Oh, Munkus. I'm sorry. What did you do?"

"Well, I foolishly thought that the letters were coming from someone within the Junkyard, someone out to claim my role as leader. So I went to Mistoffelees seeking some kind of magical protection, but you know how he is with magic…"

"What happened?"

"Well, the potion didn't quite do what it was supposed to. I wanted something that would link my spirit with some kind of undetectable force-field against danger, which obviously is not what happened at all, but my spirit linked with something else entirely, or someone I should say." Bombalurina looked at him as though she did not understand what this meant, so Munkustrap simply kept talking. "Yesterday I stubbed my toe on the stove… and as I winced, I heard Demeter yelp from across the yard. I turned to see her holding her foot. I found it odd but I merely shrugged it off as nothing. And then just a few minutes later, I tripped over a pile of crates the kittens had been playing in, and I ended up getting a nasty gash on my leg. When I saw Demeter that night in the den, she had the same wound, and when I asked her how she got it, she couldn't tell me."

"I'm not following."

"Whatever happens to me happens to Demeter. If I get hurt, so does she. When those rats were attacking me, she was getting attacked, too."

"Everlasting Cat in Heaviside!" Bombalurina breathed the words, allowing her crimson paw to hover over her mouth in astonishment.

"Why did the rats even come for you, though?" Bombalurina was serious.

"Well, I can only guess that Macavity found out somehow and sent those dirty rats to do his bidding; he must have seen the perfect opportunity to mess with the both of us at the same time, the two cats he despises most of all: his well-behaved brother and the queen who rejected his proposal. He probably couldn't resist."

"They tried to kill you today… which means Demeter almost died as well…"

"Yes that's right, but you mustn't tell her any of this. I don't want to frighten her."

"It's a little late for that, Munk. You know how skittish she is… I bet this has only added to her trauma. She couldn't make sense of what happened and neither could I. You were lucky she was in so much pain earlier and didn't notice what I noticed."

"Oh? And what was that?"

"The way you and her reacted identically to the rat attack. When you were being strangled, so was she."

"That's the reason I was telling Alonzo not to let them touch me. I didn't want her to be hurt in the process." Munkustrap ran a paw through his head-fur before asking, "Bom… How bad is she?"

"Not too much worse than you, though she is smaller, so the bruises are worse, especially around her belly."

"All those punches." Munkustrap sighed to himself, holding his face with a single silver paw and remembering all the times the fists of the rats smashed into his midsection. It pained him to realize that Demeter had felt those exact same tortuous impacts.

Bombalurina gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You know you have to speak to Misto about reversing the effects of that potion."

"I know, it was cowardly of me in the first place."

"No, it wasn't cowardly at all. You were trying to protect the tribe by protecting yourself. Everybody knows you're the best leader this clan of cats could ever hope to have. With Old Deuteronomy too old to lead us, you're what's giving us all hope." She offered a genuinely warm smile, of which Munkustrap returned.

"Thanks, Bombalurina."

"You're welcome." The ruby-coated feline stood up from her seat and told the grey tom as she sauntered off, "Now go and talk to Misto, and after that I suggest you go comfort your mate. It might not be a bad idea to explain things to her, even just a little."

"Will do, thanks for everything." Munkustrap rose to his paws, having two very delicate business matters to attend to.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Munkustrap padded into the den on silent paws, finding the small queen asleep in their bed. He couldn't help himself, and lifted the covers to see her belly. His throat fell into his stomach and his heart froze mid-beat. He could see the mottled colors of blue and purple beneath her smooth skin, and he inhaled sharply.

"It's not as bad as it looks, you know." Demeter spoke sweetly, Munkustrap's eyes shot straight to hers. He hadn't realized she'd woken up.

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? That's just silly. This isn't your fault." She giggled softly.

Wiping a stray piece of fur from her face, he countered sadly, "Oh darling, but it is this time."

Munkustrap explained to her what happened, including his exchange with Misto, how he discovered the truth when he banged his toe and tripped over the crates, how he tried to stay away. When he mentioned Macavity, she visibly tensed, so he reassured her that the potion had already been reversed, that they were both safe, and that nothing would ever happen to her for as long as he lived. And when Demeter told him that she trusted him to lead the tribe, that she didn't blame him for what had happened, that everything was a bowl of salmon paste as long as he was with her, he knew that everything would be okay.

He didn't need a potion to tell him that.


End file.
